Day 2: Tampa Bay Water Ski Show

Day 1- Bella's Italian Cafe

Activity number one happened on Friday, August 20th. I read earlier in that week that Bella's Italian Cafe's "after-hour-happy hours" were kinda happening......and word of mouth had it that Bella's has the best Italian food in Tampa. After a long day of work, I went home to get things together....only to get ready to go out at 11:30pm. I was pretty much ready for bed by 10:30pm. In the past, if I had planned on going out on the weekend, I would have already been out by 10pm, but happy hour @ Bella's doesn't start until midnight. So, I grabbed a friend and we ventured out to give Bella's a try.

The food- AWESOME! I think that was the best cosmo martini I have ever had, too. The satellite radio music was good- a mix of stuff like Lenny Kravitz & music I love from the 70s, but I don't know who the artists are. The crowd, however, was not what was happening. It was mostly older couples who were holding hands and sitting on the same side of the table, and younger couples who were kissing by the candlelight and obviously drinking too much (heck, they made me a little afraid to get back on the road even though I only live 2 minutes away). Had my friend and I had nothing to talk to each other about, and just went out for the sole purpose of late-night mingling, the night would've sucked. Yet, the mix of the great convo, great food, and people watching made it okay.

I'd do Bella's after hour-happy hour again, but only if I wake up in the middle of the night hungry and have friends available to ride along with me!


Summary:

Fav: the food

Least Fav: I ordered before the midnight mark and missed the happy hour discount!

Advice: Bring a friend and an appetite

Found out about it: Through word of mouth and Bella's website

Hello World!!!

My biggest pet peeves are when a person complains about something, but doesn’t do anything to make a change, or when a person complains about something but hasn’t even put in any effort or given that something a try. I fall into the latter category, and therefore, have been getting on my own nerves. Last weekend at my birthday celebration, I found myself yapping about how boring Tampa has been in my two years of residency. Geez, for the past two years I have been comparing Tampa to Atlanta and reminiscing about how much fun I used to have. What have I been doing? 

I have been thinking that the hardest thing about being a college grad is quite possibly the lack of "fun" that used to be shoved in my face via flyers under my door, postings by the cafeteria, and word of mouth in the dormitory. Life outside of college, especially in a new city, forces you to do your own research to find things to do, network on your own, and make use of friends of friends and family of friends in whatever area you are in in order to stay "active".  

I am guilty of waiting on the "fun" to fall into my lap, so I have decided to get off my rump and do something about it. I have picked 30 days over the next four months to do 30 different things at my new age of 30. I am making use of local newspapers, websites, and friends who have lived here forever to find random and interesting things to do. Sounds like fun, huh??! I will try to step out with an open mind AND abstain from comparing Tampa to Atlanta....at least for as long as I can. :) 

I have set my own guidelines for this adventure as follows:

- If I go to a restaurant, it must be one I've never been to before and at a time of day in which I normally would not dine.

- No more than one bar and/or one nightclub

-I must attend at least two networking events 

-All activities should be activities that I would enjoy doing all on my own, without the requirement that I have to bring someone with me. But, I can bring a friend if I want (especially if it's like a 2 for 1 discount or something lol)

Ok, so.................if you've ever been to Tampa, or know anyone in the area, and have some ideas for me, let me know. In the meantime, check in and see where I've gone and what I've done!

Woo hoo! No more weekends soaking up the sales at the mall!